Start Listening To: Girl Scout

The Swedish ex-jazz musicians have earned their badges and are ready to take over the world.

Hotly-tipped newcomers Girl Scout have announced their debut EP Real Life Human Garbage, set to be released on 15 February through Made Records. To celebrate the announcement, the band have shared their brand new single ‘Weirdo’, accompanied by a music video directed by Kenny McCracken and featuring acclaimed British actor Mark Williams. Following the release of their previous singles ‘Do You Remember Sally Moore?’ and ‘All The Time And Everywhere’, which received praise from outlets such as The Guardian, The Times, The Line Of Best Fit, The Forty Five, DIY, and Clash, Girl Scout have been included in the Still Listening Hype List, NME 100, Dork Hype List, and When The Horn Blows' 'Ones to Watch' lists for 2023. We caught up with the band and got to know more about the Swedish quintet.

Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and something about the music you make?

We are four Swedish ex-jazz musicians who got bored and started a band instead! We love old love songs and indie from the 00s and 90s and The Beatles, I’d say our music is a healthy mish mash of the three with some odd fragments of anything else that sounds good.

What inspired the creation of your debut EP Real Life Human Garbage?

Honestly the EP started with us sitting around during the pandemic with nothing to do. School was shut down, and pretty much the only people we were around were each other. I think we were really lucky that we had just started the band; all the venues were shut down so we could either rehearse for nothing or write and record a bunch of songs, so we did that. We ended up recording like thirty-something demos, and five of them ended up being RLHG. The songs are about being in a weird phase in your life, being in your mid-twenties and not really having your life sorted out. Being in a pandemic probably had an impact as well; forgetting how to interact with people and feeling anxious. They’re quite nostalgic as well, a lot of looking back at your younger years. The name Real Life Human Garbage started as a joke, Emma used to call Viktor a real life human garbage boy and then one day we realized it was a pretty good term for the turmoil of being human, which summed up the EP pretty well.

How was the EP produced?

Three songs were recorded with producer Ali Chant in his studio in Bristol, with a very straight forward approach; we recorded the foundation of each song live, and then played around with synths, pianos and guitar pedals and layered on whatever was needed. A lot of playing around in the studio and trying out weird synths and old instruments, it was very collaborative and Ali was a joy to work with.

‘Weirdo’ and ‘Attenborough Beach’ was produced by Jacknife Lee, and with those we actually reworked the original demos. All the vocals, and some of the instrumental stuff, are from the original demos, and then the rest is stuff layered on to broaden the sound. It was very much a matter of letting Jacknife do his thing and interpret the original arrangements and add what he felt was missing. The result is a mix between the traditional ”band sound” and contemporary pop. We really loved his contribution to the music and he is a really sweet guy.

How has Stockholm influenced your music?

Not consciously at least. I think our main influence is British and American music, but Swedish music is very influenced by that as well, so we are probably influenced on some level. It’s hard to say, speaking from our perspective. If anyone Swedish is reading this, please let us know!

Do you have any favorite lyrics from the EP?

“Can you run me over with your car, I wanna be a road that leads far away from here”, is a fun one. Also loving “I’m camera shy and I can’t look at the light, In the blink of an eye and then the flash burns bright”, and “I remember those worn out Nike shoes that you always wore. They made you look like a skater kid even though you’d never been on a board.”

You all met whilst studying Jazz. Why the shift from Jazz to Indie?

It was partially due to the college we were studying at shutting down, so there was nowhere to play jazz anymore. Emma and Viktor had a duo and got back into indie and their teenage influences, which felt new after years of playing jazz. And then the pandemic happened, so that turned into the only thing we did for about six months, which enabled us to record a lot of music. We kind of fell into the shift unintentionally.

How are you feeling about supporting Coach Party in spring?

That’s gonna be sick, they’re massive live. We’ve met them and they’re all really nice people, really looking forward to seeing them again and hanging out on the road together.

You’ve been featured in a tonne of hype lists for 2023. How does it feel to have so much buzz around you?

It feels unreal! We are really flattered and happy about it, but hype is such an intangible thing it’s hard to take it all in. You’ll read a piece about yourself and feel like a million bucks and then go start your shift at a day job, which gets you humbled pretty quickly. We are very grateful that people appreciate what we’re doing!

What have been some of the most memorable moments of your career so far?

Last summer we had the pleasure of doing two insane gigs, supporting the amazing Holly Humberstone. Then following a few really fun festival shows! We’ve been a band for a couple of years now but 2022 we finally got out into the public eye. It’s been a lot of fun!

Name an artist you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why?

The Beatles is the obvious answer, it’s just one of those bands that you discover when you first start listening to music and you’re pretty young, and then the older you get you really start to understand why the songs are so brilliant.

The Velvet Underground and The Strokes have music that doesn’t age, even though it very much encapsulates those specific eras in the music scene.

What do you love right now?

Obsessed with the new album from The 1975, ’Being Funny In A Foreign Language’. Really want to see their live show, they are really rethinking what the concept of arena shows can be.

What do you hate right now?

Brexit. It’s been a pain going back and forth to the UK from Sweden. Would love to not stand in passport lines for hours every time we’re going over for a gig, not having reception and getting super expensive phone bills.

What is the most meaningful track on the EP for you and why?

Do You Remember Sally Moore. It's the first song we released and also one of the first songs we ever played - feels like it’s been with us for years now. The first demo we did was really different to what we finally ended up with. Working out that new arrangement with Ali was great, he brought so many cool ideas to it.

Are there any other releases you’re looking forward to in 2023?

Really looking forward to the new Boygenius record, loved the three new songs!

Thanks for speaking with us! Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

We’re going to play a bunch of festivals this summer, please come and see us and say hi! Also we’re releasing a lot of music in 2023 (more than you think), stay tuned!